Two Freedom Chairs

Whether it’s to access the beach or escape an emergency situation, the Freedom Chair is designed to be lightweight and easily assembled.

1. Freedom Chair: Play Sultan for a Day

Crosswind Concepts designed the Freedom Chair so wheelchair users can travel across rough outdoor terrain and areas such as paths, beaches and parks. It may also double as an emergency evacuation chair to transport people up and down stairs.

The 19 pound aluminum chair is the brainchild of California-based Crosswind Concepts owners Jack and Debbie Wright. They have a son with a rare genetic disorder and started the company to focus on products that help others with disabilities.

With six handles and non-slip rubber grips, the Freedom Chair is basically a well-designed litter for people with mobility impairments. Rear polyurethane wheels allow the chair to be pulled, while a number of straps and restraints make it easy to secure the passenger’s upper body and/or arms. The official video shows a variety of applications, including having one person pull it like a rickshaw and having two people carry it up stairs.

The Freedom Chair is designed for easy assembly and is compact enough to be stored in a car trunk, making it a solid option for exploring the outdoors, climbing the stairs at a friend’s house, or simply playing sultan for a day and having a group of friends carry you all over town.

Be careful not to mix up the Freedom Chair with the Leveraged Freedom Chair. The LFC is a rad lever-powered all-terrain wheelchair designed by Global Research Innovation and Technology for wheelchair users in developing countries. Instead of relying on users to push the wheels, the LFC user pumps two levers — one on each wheel — for more efficient propulsion. The chair also offers a large caster wheel in front of the two main wheels, much like the FreeWheel attachment that has become popular in the United States. The chair’s rugged frame is built from mild steel and all the moving parts are readily available bicycle parts, making it much easier for users and technicians to make repairs in the field.

The unique design has won numerous awards and was deemed the Biggest Innovation of 2011 by the Wall Street Journal.